Thomas Dekker is a young playwright struggling to make ends meet in the London of Shakespeare and Marlowe in the 1590's. He hears of the mysterious murder of Mother Wingfield, a crime many attribute to witchcraft because she was alone in a room, locked from the inside, at the time of her death. He decides to investigate as he thinks the story might make a good play. His investigations draw him to the attention of powerful men like the Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh who, riding the currents of religious hatred and xenophobia, are engaged in a vicious struggle to win influence with Queen Elizabeth. Thomas is caught up in the middle of these conflicting forces, in a volatile situation where treason and heresy are suspected at every turn. By the time Thomas has solved the mystery, his adventures have vividly illustrated Tudor London for us in all its chaotic, cruel, bawdy glory.